“The Technological Iron Curtain”… The United States’ Strategy to Monopolize Artificial Intelligence

Since DeepSeek announced its new technology, which represents a global leap in the field of artificial intelligence, the American narrative of the “Chinese threat” has undergone several updates. It started with the revelation of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s ban on using DeepSeek on government devices, and went on to the urging of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to tighten control over open-source artificial intelligence models, especially those coming from China. Thus, the United States is expanding the scope of its repressive methods to include artificial intelligence, and the new version of the “Chinese threat” myth has become embodied in the narrative of the “Chinese Artificial Intelligence Threat.”

On March 27, the United States added about 80 companies to its export control list, more than 50 of which are headquartered in China. It claimed that these companies were seeking to acquire advanced expertise in supercomputing, artificial intelligence, and quantum technology for military purposes. Additionally, the U.S. intelligence community issued its annual threat assessment report on March 26, claiming that China “is likely planning to use large language models to produce false news and aims to displace the United States from the throne of artificial intelligence by 2030.”

This series of actions indicates that the U.S. government is intensifying the construction of the narrative of the “Chinese Artificial Intelligence Threat,” and this is not a coincidence. In recent years, every technological advancement in China has been met with the American “Chinese threat” discourse, revealing Washington’s simple logic: “China should not lead.” As soon as China shows signs of surpassing the United States in any field, that superiority is immediately classified as a “threat,” and then various repressive methods are employed.

According to a comment by Lu Xiang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: “Instead of describing it as an exaggeration (of the Chinese threat), it would be more accurate to say that the United States is in a state of panic over the development of Chinese artificial intelligence.” Lu Xiang added: “The development of Chinese artificial intelligence has now entered an unprecedented stage; the speed and depth of progress in this field have far exceeded what people imagined many years ago.” The United States’ obsession with “leadership” may ultimately be meaningless.

Looking back, the United States prevented Chinese electric vehicle and battery companies from entering the American market, but American companies faced difficulties in technology and supply chain, leading to a slowdown in the growth of this industry. Now, the United States is applying the same strategy in the field of artificial intelligence, from preventing American companies from supplying chips to Chinese companies to forcing its allies to join the blockade. Every step taken by the United States aims to exclude China from the global technological system. However, history has proven that not only has the American technological blockade failed, but it has repeatedly led to opposite results; it has failed to curb China’s development and has also destabilized global supply chains.

In addition to keeping up with its anti-China rhetoric for “updating,” the American technological blockade ultimately ends up “shooting itself in the foot.” Lu added: “This blockade will force Chinese companies to accelerate independent research and development, pushing China to forge its own path.” The narrative of the “Chinese Artificial Intelligence Threat” is merely a reflection of the United States’ anxiety and loss of control over the field of artificial intelligence.

Global cooperation is essential for the advancement of artificial intelligence. However, the United States insists on dragging artificial intelligence into geopolitical competition, calling for isolation and technological confrontation, and even trying to create an artificial “technological iron curtain.” The real threat is not China’s technological rise but the United States’ malicious interference in global technological development for geopolitical purposes.